We do have a building block at center

[jibsey]

I’m pretty excited that we have Sanogo Who is the best hope we’ve had down there in a long time. Hope Hurley can get the right pieces to go with him.

 

[gtcam]

You mean the kid Hurley had nailed to the sidelines in the final minutes of the last two games?
JSMH

 

[UCTitleTown]

Our big men always seem to be raw players with "potential". We don't have a great track record bringing out that potential.

 

[jibsey]

Our big men always seem to be raw players with "potential". We don't have a great track record bringing out that potential.

This kid has touch and footwork. It would be a crime to not use that. In fact it’s grounds for coach’s dismissal. And he wants to learn and play badly. I don’t know what happened tonite, but I expect Hurley will talk about defense or matchups but we needed his scoring in there tonight.

 

[navery12]

Our big men always seem to be raw players with "potential". We don't have a great track record bringing out that potential.

There's no raw player with "potential" with Sanogo. I question if you've actually been watching this team if you think that, he's the best big we've had in years already

 

[jibsey]

There's no raw player with "potential" with Sanogo. I question if you've actually been watching this team if you think that, he's the best big we've had in years already

Yup, and why was he on the bench all night?

 

[CTBasketball]

Yup, and why was he on the bench all night?

Because we play man to man defense, and Maryland’s biggest player can shoot so he was drawing Sanogo away from the hoop.

And on offense they’d double him and let him make freshman mistakes.

 

[UCFBfan]

Because we play man to man defense, and Maryland’s biggest player can shoot so he was drawing Sanogo away from the hoop.

And on offense they’d double him and let him make freshman mistakes.

This. Plus, he was completely inefficient on offense. Maryland was just a horrible match up for us and we were for them. kudos to them for taking control of the game script and using the mismatch to their advantage.

I thought UConn should have pounded the ball down to Sanogo all night but when they tried, Maryland swarmed him and forced him into frosh mistakes. He wasn't getting anything done and defensively, he was a liability since he was drawn away from the basket and onto the perimeter. If he isn't scoring, he isn't worth playing. Hence why he was sitting at the end. TBH, I felt Carlton had a little more luck when he was in for the few mins he was in. However, he never reappeared.

Looking towards the future, we gotta hope that we can build around him. It's looking more and more like perimeter shooting will be a little shaky next year. Why not look to be physical and pound the rock to Sanogo?

 

[jibsey]

Because we play man to man defense, and Maryland’s biggest player can shoot so he was drawing Sanogo away from the hoop.

And on offense they’d double him and let him make freshman mistakes.

I’m sorry but I want the kid on the floor. Hurley’s strategy failed. As bad as we shot we were still in that game but no offense down low. He played 16 minutes. If Hurley told him to kick out on a double he would have. Please.

 

[CTBasketball]

I’m sorry but I want the kid on the floor. Hurley’s strategy failed. As bad as we shot we were still in that game but no offense down low.

Hurley tried adapting, but like we’ve seen all year when Bouknight and Sanogo get nothing we usually lose in a grotesque way.

In today’s style of basketball he is a very difficult type of player to run your offense thru.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Yup, and why was he on the bench all night?

He was exposed on both ends. This was a horrible matchup for him. They had a packed-in defense that could double team him, even if no individual defender could match his size. And on the other end, he can't defend the perimeter and got burned on a cut for a wide open dunk. He was a liability.

To be honest, this is a big concern going forward. He's exposed against any kind of 5-out (i.e. modern) lineup and is really only playable against teams with at least one traditional big.

 

[UCFBfan]

He was exposed on both ends. This was a horrible matchup for him. They had a packed-in defense that could double team him, even if no individual defender could match his size. And on the other end, he can't defend the perimeter and got burned on a cut for a wide open dunk. He was a liability.

To be honest, this is a big concern going forward. He's exposed against any kind of 5-out (i.e. modern) lineup and is really only playable against teams with at least one traditional big.

This is a good point. I almost wonder if running a zone defense would be something to consider. I hate zone, maybe it's my nightmares of Syracuse, but yesterday just showed how playing man with the roster makeup we have can be crushing. Maryland just gave a blueprint on how to expose us with ease.

 

[jibsey]

He was exposed on both ends. This was a horrible matchup for him. They had a packed-in defense that could double team him, even if no individual defender could match his size. And on the other end, he can't defend the perimeter and got burned on a cut for a wide open dunk. He was a liability.

To be honest, this is a big concern going forward. He's exposed against any kind of 5-out (i.e. modern) lineup and is really only playable against teams with at least one traditional big.

Burned on a dunk? You must have missed the second have of the game because he wasn’t in and there was a dunkathon going on against us.

 

[Conndog]

If you don’t pound it down low, you have to win the game from outside. UConn doesn’t have great outside shooters- they can’t get open easily (Polley, Gaffney for example), and those we have had bad night yesterday. So, the plan should have been to get it down low. Carlton hardly played- he had a couple of quick fouls, got yanked, and never returned.
Not enough shooters, bad game plan, awful shooting night, and Maryland had great shooting night. But we did get back to tournament at least.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Burned on a dunk? You must have missed the second have of the game because he wasn’t in and there was a dunkathon going on against us.

The first one was against him. He got confused on a switch, screen and slip, something like that, and his guy went right down the lane for a wide open dunk.

Unplayable.

 

[Kitaman]

Sanogo needs a point guard or a post feeder (Ajax?). Give him that and he's an All American in a couple of years.

 

[jibsey]

The first one was against him. He got confused on a switch, screen and slip, something like that, and his guy went right down the lane for a wide open dunk.

Unplayable.

He wasn’t the only one confused.